A leading otolaryngologist based in the UAE has called for legislation to be introduced, making it mandatory for all hospitals to screen babies for possible hearing loss.

Dr Muaaz Tarabichi, head of ENT Department, American Hospital, Dubai believes it is essential for the future well-being of infants that early identification of possible hearing loss becomes a standard practice in the country’s hospitals.

“There has to be a law telling hospitals to do this because we know that early treatment can make a huge difference. The brain can learn to hear speech and develop language only in the first five years of life. Beyond that it loses its ability, so if the hearing loss is diagnosed at 3 years, 75 per cent of the time to develop speech is gone,” he said.

“Presently, babies are routinely tested for a lot of things that are much less common than hearing loss. We can know the status of the hearing immediately after birth in a very reliable way,” he added.

There are several reasons for deafness in newborn children, and by screening at the earliest stage possible a child’s future quality of life can be greatly improved.

From an early stage of development, children who are completely or partially deaf, can fail to learn language skills and speak normally.

Studies have shown that slight hearing loss can severely hinder the academic performance of a child, but through early detection and appropriate intervention normal development is easily achievable.

Dr Tarabichi chaired the Middle East Update in Otolaryngology Conference which was held from April 1 to 3, in Abu Dhabi.-TradeArabia News Service